


A Glimpse of Heaven

by swablurb



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Birthday Party, Celebrations, Comedy, Fluff, M/M, also features a missing shiro, but it's lance's bday?? so the fic itself is lance-centric, dw he is later found, teen bc when will I ever not swear in my fics, the summary sounds keith-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-30
Updated: 2017-07-30
Packaged: 2018-12-09 02:00:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11659272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swablurb/pseuds/swablurb
Summary: They're in the midst of an apocalypse where most would rather never have to wake up again than face day after day of grim hope and meager chances of survival. But Keith isn't most people, and neither is Lance, thankfully, and likehellKeith is going to let his boyfriend(?)'s birthday go uncelebrated.





	A Glimpse of Heaven

**Author's Note:**

  * For [veksi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/veksi/gifts).



> omg ok so apparently I'm doing a fic trade with [wrenowitch](http://archiveofourown.org/users/wrenowitch) for our boy lance's birthday ?? ya I know this is late but we literally decided this on the 27th so at least it's still july
> 
> anyway context: she's building off my [parenting au](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11277750) and I'm building off her [apocalypse au](http://archiveofourown.org/works/10778139/chapters/23906595).......sort of......... unlike her I actually don't have much knowledge in regards to zombie apocalypses so just pretend I know what I'm talking about. there's an og version of how lance's birthday goes in the original fic ch8 but I'm gonna write my own version yea
> 
> ALSO YA WREN I CHANGED MY MIND BC THE OTHER IDEA WAS TOO PITIFUL I CRIED SO I'M DOING THIS THAB THEMED YEET IT'S KINDA SHIT BUT OH WELL

_"Lance's birthday is_ when _?"_

_Keith tries not to flinch at the way his voice cracks and instead keeps his gaze fixated on Hunk, who sits across from him at the dining table. It's only the two of them right now; Lance is busy debriefing after a small scouting mission and Shiro and Pidge are running late with an afternoon sparring class. Hunk only blinks, swallowing his rice before responding._

_"It's on the twenty-eighth. He didn't tell you?"_

_Hunk looks at him inquisitively and Keith's mouth twists into something that may have been a frown. No, Lance did_ not _tell him. They've only ever talked about their birthdays once, when they first arrived at Voltron's camp. Lance had mentioned something about his birthday being 'next month' and then shifted the discussion to Keith. This conversation happened just about, well, a month ago. Keith swears and tells Hunk as such. He receives a hum and understanding nod in reply._

_"Well it's not like birthdays are of utmost priority when you're just trying to survive every day. I don't think even he remembers," he says, pointing his spoon at him._

_Keith doesn't say anything, just drums his fingers against the tabletop and glares at his empty bowl. He waits until Hunk has finished eating before speaking again._

_"So what are we doing?"_

_Hunk nearly chokes. On what, Keith isn't sure; maybe a stray bean or something._

_"What?"_

_Keith repeats himself._

_"What are we doing? For Lance's birthday," he adds, when Hunk just keeps staring at him._

_"Well," Hunk finally says after the two have engaged in a staring contest for upwards a minute, "I hadn't really thought about that because, you know, survival. But...yeah. Yeah, you're right. We should do something for him, shouldn't we?"_

_Keith perks up a little upon hearing the other man agree and he leans in._

_"Yeah," he says. "So how are we doing this?"_

_"Well, seeing as we've only got a couple of days to prepare, we'll need to act fast," Hunk muses and Keith nods. Over Hunk's shoulder, he catches sight of Shiro and Pidge walking towards their table, bowls of food in their hands. Keith waves them over urgently before turning back to Hunk._

_"Let's start planning then."_

  
  
  


Lance trudges his way through camp. It's ridiculously hot out, the sun beating down relentlessly and not a single breeze to move the air around him. Allura had approached him earlier that morning, nearly _pleading_ for him to go on a last-minute supply run. It was a rather odd request but since he was free, he'd agreed to go. The mission was simple enough, but that was before the sun reached its highest point in the sky, casting dreadful heat at him while he tried to make his way back to camp after finishing his task.

He sighs, a hot rush of carbon dioxide and nitrogen and whatever else passing by his lips. It's too late to complain now, and the only thing he really wants at the moment is a shower. Sweat skims past his temples and rolls down his neck. He's sweating more than he'd like to admit, skin slick with perspiration and t-shirt practically an entirely different colour than what it should have been.

With thoughts of relaxed muscles under the steady flow of a shower head and _un_ sticky skin, he picks up his pace back to the house. He barely nods a greeting at Hunk and Shay on the couch before speeding past them to his room, motivated by the knowledge of a shower nearby. He grabs a towel and a change of clothes then heads for the bathroom in a rush. In record time, he's stripped bare and standing under the rush of warm water and he nearly _sobs_ because it just feels so damn nice. It's a long time before he emerges from the bathroom again, spirits lifted and steam escaping into the hallway when he opens the door.

Significantly more amicable and less grimy, Lance makes his way back to the living room, pace a lot more casual. He drapes his towel around his neck to catch the stray droplets still clinging to his hair and pauses at the entryway to the room. Hunk is still there, but Shay is gone. It's only now that he realizes no one else is around.

"Hey," he says in greeting and flops down onto the couch that Hunk isn't occupying. His friend looks up from the map he's studying to give him his attention. "Where is everyone?"

"Well, Shay was needed back in the medic bay so she left not long after you disappeared into the bathroom."

"I see," Lance says and leans back against the worn couch. He tries to play it cool. "And uh, where's Keith?"

Hunk lets out a bark of laughter and Lance flushes. Not so cool then.

"Real smooth, Lance," he teases and raises an eyebrow at his friend. "But in regards to your question, Keith's on some sort of mission with Pidge."

Lance wills his embarrassment down and leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He tilts his head curiously.

"A mission?"

"Yeah." Hunk nods, dropping the map on the coffee table to gesture with his hand in a circle. "Recon stuff with Shiro. Pidge went along for uh, shits and giggles...or something."

His voice trails off with a hint of uncertainty and Lance raises an eyebrow. For shits and giggles? As _if_ Allura would allow something like _that_ to happen. _Sounds fake but okay_ , he can't help but think and eyes Hunk skeptically.

A few tense seconds later, Lance decides to drop the issue, figuring he could probably ask Pidge herself when he sees her later in the day. They settle into a comfortable conversation. He launches into his tale of the supply run he just went on and how painfully _hot_ it was. Once he's done ~~complaining~~ recounting his trip, he prompts Hunk to talk about how things are going with Shay, teasing him like a best friend should. After a while, there's some rumbling by the front door and it bursts open, revealing a panting Keith and Pidge. Lance raises his hand in a wave, smiling.

"Hey guys!" he calls out.

Keith freezes upon opening the door and regards him with surprise, eyes widening when they land on him before sliding over to look at Hunk. He returns his gaze to him not a second later.

"Lance!" he says, and there's a slight panic in his tone that has the smile slipping from Lance's face. "What are you doing here?"

Pidge smacks her hand against her forehead and Keith's face is flushing pink. Under any other circumstance, Lance would probably find it pretty, but as it is, he's more concerned than anything else.

"Uhh. Well, I live here too?" Lance says, his phrase coming out as a question.

"Right! Yes! Of course!" Keith yells, face bright red, and it looks like he's lost control of his mouth at this point. He straightens up and looks at the girl beside him. His eyes are wild. "Pidge! Do you hear that! Lance is here because he lives here!"

Lance is tempted to approach the other man but he isn't sure if that's a good idea or not. The only thing he's certain of is that Keith is acting beyond strange and that his strange behaviour is worrying him. That, and Pidge looks like she wants to knock him out. Lance looks to her expectantly for her response to the flustered man and isn't disappointed when she punches Keith's arm. Keith flinches away from her, snapping from whatever headspace he'd descended into, and the two finally walk inside.

Pidge walks over to Hunk and they immediately fall into some sort of quiet discussion. Lance can't quite catch what they're saying but it doesn't really matter because his attention is elsewhere. Leaving his towel behind on the couch, he gets up and walks over to Keith, who lingers a few steps into the house. He stops barely a foot away, angling his head to catch the other's gaze.

"You okay?" he asks softly, aiming for casual and sticking his hands into his pockets.

Keith looks at him cautiously, arms crossed over his chest and hunched over as if he was guarding a secret.

"Yeah." Nervous shuffling. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Lance purses his lips together, itching to press further but deciding that Keith would tell him in his own time.

"So how was your mission?" he asks instead, switching the subject.

Keith's head jerks up and Lance take a mental snapshot of the unexpecting look on his face: an eyebrow arched with eyes wide open and curious. _Cute_ , he thinks.

"Mission? What– Oh! Uhh, it went well." Keith shrugs. "Just the usual."

Lance tilts his head.

"I heard Pidge went along too."

He sees Keith shoot a glance at Pidge and Hunk, who are still mumbling about something.

"...Right," Keith says slowly, still eyeing the two over by the couches. At this point, Lance would be lying if he said the weird energies in the room weren't freaking him out a little but he turns to follow Keith's gaze. He manages to just catch Pidge and Hunk nodding to each other before they both look their way.

"We're gonna head out for a bit," Pidge declares, walking past them both and out the door again.

Hunk doesn't wait long to follow her.

"We'll see you guys later," he says and shoots a grin at them.

He closes the door behind him and Lance hears some shuffling and a few grunts outside before heavy footsteps walk away.

They stare at the closed door for a few more minutes in silence until Lance decides to speak up.

"Well _they're_ acting kind of weird today," he says, chuckling in an attempt to lift whatever mood had descended upon the house. He pulls back his gaze to focus on Keith but the man is still watching the door and Lance suddenly gets struck with the odd impression that Keith is _counting_ something.

"Earth to Keith?" he calls, waving his hand in front of the other man's face.

It seems to do the trick, because Keith turns to look at him, leveling him with a stare that Lance can't quite decipher.

"Hey Lance," he says, as if he _wasn't_ just glaring at the door in a trance, "it's late July right now, right? Nearly August?"

The question is weird, but Lance still acknowledges it with a nod. Keith stares at him for a minute longer, his gaze inspecting and calculating, searching for something but god knows what. His brows pull together in an exasperated way and Lance feels the urge to smooth them back out, but he refrains.

"Nothing?" Keith asks and Lance can't even respond because he has no idea what he's talking about.

"You sure you're okay?" Lance tries again. Keith blinks and nods.

"Yeah yeah, " he says hurriedly. "Hey, you mind helping out Shiro with his class today?"

Lance frowns.

"Isn't that Pidge's job?"

"Yeah, but she uh, has an injury."

"An injury?" Lance repeats, skepticism evident in his voice. "And she still went on a mission with you?"

"Yes," Keith says a beat too quickly. "She got it on the mission."

"On the..." Lance pauses, eyeing him suspiciously. "... _recon_ mission."

Keith nods, head bobbing sharply up and down with so much force that Lance actually worries for a second that it may come loose.

"It's her arm," he says. "We stopped by to see Shay before coming back here."

Lance holds back from letting out the sarcastic 'uh _huh_ " and just narrows his eyes at him. Neither speaks for a moment, caught in an intense stare down; Keith's eyes glaring defiantly into Lance's own.

"So are you helping out or not?" Keith finally huffs. Lance raises an eyebrow at him.

"Why not you?" he asks. His question is valid; he's got more experience with long-range fighting whereas Shiro teaches more hand-to-hand combat.

It should have been a simple question with a simple answer, but Keith freezes with his mouth half-open in a response before he snaps it shut. His eyes are round and he blinks quickly, looking all around them at everything except Lance's face. He's flustered, Lance realizes.

"So...?" he prompts. "Why can't you help Shiro? Between the two of us, you're better at sparring."

"Because!" Keith squeaks and for a second, Lance worries he's about to experience a repeat of the scene by the door from not even ten minutes ago, but Keith appears to keep his calm. "I...can't help because...I...need to stay here?"

Lance stares.

"Why?" he asks when Keith doesn't offer any explanation.

"I...have...heatstroke?"

Lance frowns. Heatstroke is _not_ something to take lightly. He reaches out a hand and cups Keith's cheek. His skin is definitely hot beneath his palm but the stickiness of it from sweating out in the sun – Lance sends a mental hug; he knows how horrid it is – is not too telling of heatstroke, which tends to cause people to retain moisture and _not_ sweat. Keith's breathing is also fairly regular, aside from the sharp intake of breath that happened when his hand came in contact with his face. Lance cocks his head.

"You sure it's heatstroke?"

Keith nods quickly.

"Yeah," he says. "Uhh, Shay said so?"

Well, if Shay, someone working in the medic bay, says it's heatstroke, then it's probably heatstroke right? Lance trails his fingers down from Keith's cheek, over his neck, across his shoulder, and along his arm to grasp his hand. Keith's pulse is _pounding_.

"Dizzy?" he asks and Keith falters for an answer before nodding stiffly. He sighs.

"You sure Shay said heatstroke and not heat exhaustion?" There is no way that anyone suffering from heatstroke would be allowed to wander around alone any longer than necessary, and in the _heat_ , no less.

"Uhh." Keith's face is flushing red. "She might have said that."

"Alright," Lance says, and he begins tugging Keith further into the house in the direction of the bathroom.

"I can help you run a bath or shower," he explains and can't help but attach a suggestive wink to the end of his sentence. "Unless you want to drink something first? Yeah, maybe we should get some fluids in you. I'll go grab you some water–"

"No need!" Keith all but yells and Lance stops in his movements, turning back to face him. The man squirms. "It's not that bad really so I can do it myself. Shay just told me to stay indoors for the rest of the day."

Keith shoots a small smile at him and with more strength than a dehydrated person _should_ have, he pulls on Lance's arm and faces him towards the door. A brief peck is pressed to Lance's cheek before he finds himself back outside in the glaring sun.

"Wh–"

"Find Shiro!" Keith says and shuts the door.

Utterly bewildered, Lance can only stare at the spot where he was standing not two seconds ago. He grabs the doorknob and tries twisting it but the asshole has already locked it. Keith is clearly trying to avoid him...or something. With a huff, he turns around, squinting across camp. _Shiro, it is_ , he thinks and sets off.

  
  
  


It's hot.

 _God_ , is it hot. And Lance resents Keith with every fibre of his being right now because going back out into the sun was the _last_ thing he'd wanted to do but then he'd been so _rudely_ shoved out of his own house.

But unable to get back _in_ to said house, all Lance could do was follow Keith's instructions and assist Shiro in his class. The problem, now, resides in the fact that Lance can't fucking find the guy. He's been running around camp looking for Shiro for the better part of an hour now. The first spot he went to check had been where Shiro usually has his classes, but no one was even there. He'd asked around if people had seen him but only came away with a few vague answers.

_"Yeah I saw him last night!"_

_"I might have seen him this morning? It might not have been him though."_

_"He was in the dining hall for breakfast earlier."_

_"Who's Shiro?"_

After that, he'd given up on asking for Shiro and searched for Allura instead. _She_ was a lot easier to find, since everyone knew who she was, and Lance received hints that she was probably in the medic bay. But when he arrived, Shay had smiled apologetically and told him he'd just missed her. He'd nearly screamed in frustration – seriously, it's like everyone was avoiding him or something – until Shay said Allura was heading for Slav's building. He'd bolted out of there, yelling a quick 'thank you' behind him and hearing the 'good luck!' follow after him.

It was a mistake though, the bolting, that was, because he'd arrived at Slav's door drenched in sweat. At least Allura was there, looking over graphs and figures and speaking to Slav in what must have been some foreign language but was really just complicated science talk. Unfortunately, aside from the pitiful gaze that Allura offered him, she wasn't able to tell him where Shiro was. He stayed inside for a while longer, trying to avoid the heat outside, before Slav noticed he was still there and hastily shooed him back out.

Lance sighs. And now, here he is, wandering around outside again and unable to find Shiro. Actually, speaking of which, he hadn't seen _any_ of his friends. He purses his lips, pace slowing down as he considers this realization while trying to decide where to look next.

He's kept from having to make a decision when he hears footsteps running towards him. Turning around, he notices that it's Allura, and raises an eyebrow, mouth half-open in preparation for a question, but then he's stumbling over his feet as she grabs hold of his arm, pace never slowing, and drags him along after her.

"Allura!" he yells, trying to right his footing. "What are you doing?"

She turns around and the smile on her face is mischievous.

"Just come on!" she calls back and the unusually happy and almost childish look on her face has Lance shutting up and attempt to follow her. It's not even until they stop that he realizes where they are, back at the house.

"Um," he tries. "I was supposed to go help out Shiro with something."

Allura just shakes her head and pushes him towards the door.

"Don't worry about that for now. Just go inside," she says and she's practically bouncing with giddiness so Lance can't really find it in himself to object to her request.

He hesitantly reaches for the doorknob and twists. It turns easily this time, unlocked, and he can actually _feel_ Allura vibrating in excitement behind him. He turns his head around to give her a strange look but he doesn't even succeed in doing so because the second he moves, she's screaming for him to 'just fucking open the door!' so he relents and pushes on the knob–

–and freezes at the sight of everyone – including Shiro – arranged around him, grinning and wearing tacky dollar store birthday hats. Colourful confetti flutters through the air and he can only look around in bewilderment as a chorus of 'happy birthday's are thrown at him.

"Wh– You guys?" he manages to sputter.

Keith steps forward, smiling and producing two more birthday hats out of nowhere. He hands one to Allura and snaps the remaining one into place on Lance's head before pulling him into a hug. Lance just allows it all to happen as he realizes that everyone's odd behaviour had been because of this. A kiss is pressed to his cheek, which encourages several 'aw's and some groaning from those around them, before he sees Keith's blinding smile again.

"Happy birthday Lance," he says, lessening his hold on him.

Before he can properly let go, Hunk slams into Lance's other side and Pidge attaches herself to his waist. With loud whoops and hollers, more people begin piling into the hug. He spots Shiro's white hair and Coran's orange mustache, Shay's curls and Allura's bright laugh. He's still at a loss for words, and is feeling oddly emotional. They're in the middle of an apocalypse, for Christ's sake, and they still managed to arrange for something like this?

"It was Keith's idea," he hears Hunk fake-whisper into his ear and Lance takes a look at Keith, who blushes at being outted like this.

"You deserve it," he mumbles, pressing his face into Lance's neck.

And Lance finds himself able to laugh, happy and warm in the embrace of his friends.

  
  
  


(It's only when they finally untangle from the hug that they're in that Lance can finally see the decorated room around them. Streamers and balloons and – now that it's been unleashed – confetti covers nearly everything. Pidge explains that they unfortunately don't have a cake because eggs and milk and flour just isn't something you can find and trust during apocalyptic times but that they've all got gifts for him. They take turns giving him his presents and handwritten cards that he does _not_ cry over, no he doesn't. When it's Keith and Pidge's turn, they explain that theirs is a joint gift and that it was the reason they weren't there in the morning. Shiro apologizes on Keith's behalf for making him run around the camp searching for him, when in actuality, he'd snuck back into the house with Hunk and Pidge right after Keith had shoved Lance out so that they could decorate the place.)

(Keith doesn't apologize, but he gives him a kiss later on as consolation.)

**Author's Note:**

> the heatstroke thing was so random but then I realized that it's actually summer right now so psa if you guys are headed to the beach or just leaving the house in general then remember to drink your fluids!! and wear sunscreen!! and hat!!
> 
> UM ANYWAY [THIS](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11667162) LINKS TO WREN'S PART AND I AM DYING IT'S SO PERFECT
> 
> also......lance m'boy.....you sweet child......ilu happy belated <333
> 
> FUCK YOU THO WREN WE SHOULD HAVE STARTED THIS EARLIER FUCK


End file.
